Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Guest Bloggers Melissa + Kellie, from the blog Icing Designs.

There are so many amazing DIY party hats out there, this is just our take on them. All you need to start is your favorite scrapbooking paper, a cheap paper party hat, ribbon (satin or sheer), crepe paper, faux feathers, embellishments of your choice, scissors, a stapler and a hot glue gun! This would be a fun project for New Years!

You can take apart an old or new paper party hat (that you can get at any party store) just to use as a template. We already had a template that we have been using. Just trace the shape of the hat onto the back of the paper you are making your new party hat of. Once traced just follow the lines and cut.

Then just wrap the end of the hat around and shape into a cone and staple. (You can use a glue gun if you want to glue the seems together.)

Its okay if there is a little hole in the top. Use your glue gun to put a dab of glue in the hole at the top of the hat and then stick your feathers in.

Next your are going to take your crepe paper and glue it around the bottom of your hat. Make sure that you glue the crepe paper in the middle so that there is an overlay on the top and bottom. (The middle of the crepe paper should be toward the bottom of the hat).

Then take the top of the crepe paper and pull in down and little bit and the bottom and pull it up just to give it some dimension.

Then you are going to take your two even strips of ribbon and glue them on the inside of either side of the hat. You can use any kind of ribbon you like, satin or sheer. We also glued a strip of different textured ribbon in the middle of the crepe paper.

Lastly, we just embellished the front with a paper rosette with a gem in the middle.

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

Spending time with family and friends is one of the best things about the holidays. Although it’s important to always tell loved ones how grateful you are for them, during Christmas is an especially great time to do so. This year, consider making personal note party favors for each guest at your dinner party. They take little time to create and are incredibly inexpensive.

What you’ll need:

• Any Christmas book
• White paper
• Glitter glue
• Ribbon
• Mod Podge
• Flat back rhinestones (optional)

Step 1. Choose your background material. I used a broken and worn down book of vintage Christmas music, but other options include Christmas story books or cookbooks. Each page you use should be double-sided.

Step 2. Cut the white paper into rectangles that are proportionate to the background paper. Write your personal notes on each one, then use Mod Podge to glue it to the center of the background paper.

Step 3. Use glitter glue to decorate the outer edges of the party favor. I did a red bow on the top, small red dot on the bottom and green wavy lines along the edges. You can also attach flat back rhinestones depending on how heavy the paper is. Let the party favors dry overnight before moving onto the next step. Test the glue by lightly tapping it with your finger to make sure it’s completely dry.

Step 4. Roll up the party favors and secure each one with a ribbon.

To distribute them to guests, place the party favors on the plates at the table or put them in a decorative basket and give them out as the guests arrive or leave.

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

I love homemade ornaments; I think they really add personality to a Christmas tree. This year, make use of vintage paper materials by making ornaments out of them. You’ll save a huge amount of money, prevent paper from going into the landfill, and make sparkly personalized items for yourself or loved ones.

What you’ll need:

• Vintage music sheet
• Snowflake template
• Colored cardstock
• Scissors or craft knife
• Small hole punch
• Mod Podge
• Ribbon
• Glitter glue

Step 1. Choose a snowflake template. Cookie cutters work well. There are a variety to choose from whether you want something simple or one a little more elaborate.

Step 2. Use Mod Podge to adhere the sheet of vintage Christmas music onto cardstock. Depending on the size of the ornaments you’d like to make and the size of the sheet music, you’ll likely be able to make at least two ornaments out of each sheet of music. Give it at least an hour to dry before moving onto the next step.

Step 3. Print the snowflake template on the cardstock side, not on the paper side. Ink sometimes has a tendency to blur or bleed a bit on vintage paper, which typically doesn’t happen on cardstock.

Step 3. Either using scissors or a craft knife, cut out the snowflake shape. For the more elaborate designs, I recommend you use a craft knife as it’s much easier to maneuver than scissors.

Step 4. Punch a hole into a top section of the snowflake, then cover the ornament with glitter glue. I used green because of the green music print on the paper. Give the ornaments at least two hours to dry.

Step 5. Tie a matching ribbon through the hole.

By Sewing Contributor Jessica, from the blog Life Sew Good. 

My mom was the genius behind this. (Thanks, mom!) I love these stocking silverware holders, especially because they can be decorated nicely for an adult crowd or fun for a kid crowd. I used fleece to make this one, but I think making them out of linen would be a nice formal touch. Also, for a more formal version, you could use white napkins inside the stocking instead of sewing in the white fleece. So many ideas…so little time.

You need:

• Red Fleece or Felt (or linen or whatever you like!)
• White Fleece or Felt (again, up to you!)
• Ribbon
• Stocking pattern (make your own or google it)

1. Trace stocking pattern onto your red fabric, placing the straight side on the fold. I used this little green stocking for my pattern!

2. Cut stocking out.

3. Using the measurement for the width of the stocking, cut a rectangle from your white fabric that measures width x 3″.

4. Open red stocking and place white piece on the left inside of stocking. Sew directly into the stocking, close to the edge.

5. With right sides facing, sew curved side of stocking. Flip right side out.

6. Decorate with ribbons, bells, or other festive things! Insert silverware & you’re done!

By Guest Bloggers Melissa + Kellie, from the blog Icing Designs.

We are quickly approaching the holidays! As we all know this month can be so overwhelming. It is almost a hassle to walk through the mall to buy all those gifts on your list. We have learned over the years that some of the best gifts are handmade and from your heart. I have been making homemade sweet trays for years to give to some of my favorite people on my list, including Kellie! I love finding a gorgeous platter and filling it with beautiful sweets and wrapping it up festively! I always include my chocolate covered marshmallow snowmen on the trays and they are always the first thing people comment on. They are so easy to make and are so cute! Today we are really excited to share them with you, along with the easy DIY instructions so that you can make them too! Even if you just make a few and wrap them up sweetly, they make a great little gift to give to someone you love!

These are so easy that even your kids can help! One of my twins, Maia helped me and she did such a great job…and had so much fun! Just use lollipop sticks and put three marshmallows on each stick.

After you are done setting them up you just dip them in white chocolate, shake off the excess and lay them to dry on a parchment lined cookie sheet. As they are drying, add an orange sprinkle for a carrot nose and sprinkle some edible glitter on them to give them some snowy sparkle!

After they are dry put some melted chocolate in a pipping bag and make little half moons for eyes. I like to take a tooth pick and drag some chocolate down to make eye lashes.

Then use some melted pink chocolate to create a ruffled scarf!

If you want to make a snow “man” You can cut a marshmallow in half and instead of letting the chocolate drip off, put it on the parchment paper and move it in a circular motion to create a hat brim.

You can use some melted chocolate to “glue” it on to the top of the snowman!

We hope you try these…your friends and family will love them!

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

When you’re looking for a beautiful Christmas party favor that’s easy to create, is filled with candy and only takes four materials to put together, the Christmas ribbon candy party favor can be exactly what you’re looking for.

What you’ll need:

• Wide wire-edged Christmas ribbon
• Small foil-wrapped candy
• Mod Podge
• Thin ribbon
• Glitter glue (optional)

Step 1. Lay out a piece of ribbon and put as many pieces of candy on it as you desire. For a small party favor, such as the one in the picture, I used 6 mint chocolate Hershey kisses. Wrap the ribbon over the top of the candy but no further.

Step 2. Take the other end of the ribbon and pull it over the first piece so it creates a loop around the candy. Once you have the loop in place, remove the candy, then add a dot of Mod Podge onto the ribbon and hold it until it sets.

Step 3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 with a new piece of ribbon.

Step 4. Cross the two loops so you create a small pocket. Leave a little space at the corners so you can get the candy in. The recipient can also peek in and see what’s inside.

Step 5. Put the candy inside through the space at the corners. Don’t worry about bending the ribbon; it’ll just straighten out and go right back into place.

Step 6. Place dots of Mod Podge onto the two loops of ribbon so they stick together, then let it sit to dry. Make sure to do this after you put the candy in otherwise the pulling from putting in the candy is going to pull the ribbon apart.

Step 6. Wrap a piece of ribbon around the top loop and tie it into a bow; do the same with a second piece of ribbon and tie it about an inch away from the first bow.

Step 7. Cut the hanging strings off the bow.

Step 8. If there’s no sparkle already on the ribbon, add a few dots of glitter glue.

Step 9. Attach a tiny name tag onto the party favor by tying it onto the thin piece of ribbon.

By Recycled Crafts Contributor, Anitra from the blog Coffee Pot People.

Sometimes I just can’t resist whispering, “Score!” to myself as I leave a thrift shop. (I’ll bet I’m not the only one, either!) I did that when I found the little reading baby figurine I used for this craft. It was actually the lid of a porcelain box, but since the box itself was missing, Baby was priced at next to nothing.

Since then, I’ve watched for tiny figurines every time I’ve gone into thrift stores or wandered through estate sales, to see if I could repeat the magic, and share it with you. The answer is, Yes!

So here’s what you’ll need to do something similar:

A tiny, lightweight, figurine

• About 4″ of wire-edged ribbon (I used gold mesh, but you can use whatever appeals to you)
• Two white, multi-petal flowers with wire stems, squashed flat
• Gathered lace or ribbon
• Fishing line or gold cord, for hanging
• Glue gun and glue

Your first task it to make wings for your figurine. Lay the ribbon flat, and place the flowers atop it, near the center, each flower facing out. Twist the ribbon in the center; that will catch the flowers, and shape the ribbon into triangular “wings”.

Next, take the cord you’ve chosen for hanging your ornament, and cut it to length. Mine was about 6″, but yours might be longer or shorter, depending on the size of your figurine and how long you want the hanging loop to be. Tie a knot so you have a closed ring, and slip it under the arms of the figurine, putting the knot in back, where you’re going to attach the wings.

Hot glue the wings in place, over the knotted hanging cord. If your flattened flowers had long wire stems, like mine did, wrap them around a bamboo skewer or small crochet hook or knitting needle to form curlicues.

Now take your pre-gathered lace or ribbon, and hot glue it around the bottom of the figurine, overlapping the ends in back. Check before you glue the ribbon, to make sure it is gathered enough that it doesn’t cup too much; if it does, run a basting stitch the length of it and gather some more. Or you can scrunch it as you glue—that works, too.

All done, and ready to give to someone special or hang on your own tree. (After all, you’re special, too!)